Couples' Weeks Part 2: Mericcup Week
by SassySunshine
Summary: A continuation of Couples' Weeks. This story comes after Jackunzel Week with a week of prompts from the official Jackunzel-Mericcup Weeks tumblr. This week we're focusing on the relationship between Merida and Hiccup.
1. Day 1: One Man's Trash

**Day 2 will be up tomorrow :)**

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**Mericcup Week  
Day 1: One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure**

Twigs snap underneath Merida's feet as she runs. Chilly late-autumn winds bite at her, threatening to turn her right around and send her sprinting back toward the warmth of the castle. Merida, however, persists. She doesn't bother firing at the targets hanging on the trees above her; no, she's too hurt to do even that. Instead, she runs until she comes across the lake. It's there that she finally falls to her knees. She doesn't know how long she sits at the edge of the river crying, but when she gets up, she comes face-to-face with green eyes.

"Hiccup? W-What are you doin' here?"

"I came to see you. Is today a bad day? Sh-Should I come back later? Because if I'm bothering you, I can come back later. There's really not much to do at home…I'm free all day, so if I have to come back later—"

"N-No, Hiccup...you can stay." Hiccup nods and sits down next to Merida. The two of them sit in silence before Hiccup finally breaks it.

"Merida, what happened?"

"Mah mum…"

"What happened this time?"

"We got into an argument…she's trying to get me into a marriage by next week, Hiccup. We started yellin' an' she told me she would be glad to get me out of the castle…I know she didn't mean it…but it hurts, Hiccup. She doesn't care if I leave the castle…she doesn't even want me there."

Hiccup puts a hand on Merida's shoulder and heaves a sigh.

"Merida…my dad felt this way before we got dragons into our society. He disowned me, and who did I have to turn to? You. At the time, you were the only one I could come to. And I learned something from that," he says. Merida arches an eyebrow.

"And what's that?"

"I learned that one man's trash is another man's treasure. Even if someone doesn't want you…there is always someone who does want you. Who needs you. Even if your mom doesn't want you – which, she doesn't mean that, I _know_ she wants you – I do."

Merida smiles slightly and pulls Hiccup into a hug.

"Thanks, Hic…"


	2. Day 2: Breakaway

**Yeah I don't really know about this one. I think it could've also fit tomorrow's prompt, but whatever. READ AWAY.**

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**Mericcup Week  
Day 2: Breakaway**

"What do you mean the Vikings are on their way?" Merida hisses in a panicked tone.

"My dad has been kind of frazzled with the dragons, and then he found out that I've been sneaking away to see you almost every day. He thinks I've become a traitor or I'm in some sort of deal with you guys so you guys can attack us. I tried to explain to him that's not the case, but he wouldn't listen. They'll be here soon. The only reason I got here faster is because I know all of the shortcuts," Hiccup says.

"Hiccup!" Merida says in exasperation. "How much time do you suppose we have before they finally get here and attack?"

"At least fifteen minutes…twenty at the most. It's not hard to get here from Berk, but they went in the direction of an incoming storm. That won't stop them, though. I tried, Merida. I tried so hard to get them to stay back. I'm hoping Astrid and Fishlegs, at least, will try and steer them off-track and eventually circle them back to Berk, but my father is bent on getting here."

"Hiccup, what'll we do?" Merida asks. "We aren't prepared for an attack by angry Vikings with _dragons_!"

"We need to breakaway. From tradition. I'm going to go find them. You have to go and convince your father and mother to talk diplomatically with my father. I'll try and do the same. We need to end this stupid rivalry. It didn't start with any of our generations, so why are we continuing it?" Hiccup says. "Whatever you do, make sure you guys do not end up having an assembled army ready to kill."

"Got it," Merida says, mounting Angus and heading back in the direction of the castle. Hiccup jumps on Toothless's back and heads off in the direction the Vikings would be coming from.

…

"Hiccup, you're back!" Merida cries as she sees Hiccup landing with Toothless. Hiccup wipes sweat from his forehead as he jumps down from Toothless.

"My dad said he'd listen. What about yours?" Hiccup asks, looking toward the sky for any sign of the other Vikings.

"He'd be willing to make an agreement, after I told him that we're actually best friends and we mean no harm to our loyalties."

"We're finally going to breakaway," Merida says, a grin coming over her face. "You won't have to sneak away on Toothless anymore, and I don't have to hide our meetings from my parents, either!"


	3. Day 3: Against the Clock

**I may or may not end up writing a longer fic about this...**

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**Mericcup Week  
Day 3: Against the Clock**

"Merida! Merida!" It's Jack who's running down the hallway and banging on the redheaded archer's door. Merida throws open the door at the sound of the frantic yelling with her bow already ready with an arrow.

"Jack! What is it? Spit it out!"

"Hiccup…he's in danger, Merida. Rapunzel went to go wake him up and two seconds later she burst into my room and told me he was gone. There's nightmare sand in there, though, and we all know what that means. Toothless was gone, too. When I went in and looked there was a note saying that we have twenty-four hours to get to Hiccup, or Pitch is gonna do some bad things to him."

"Bad things?" Merida asks. "What do you mean 'bad things,' Frost?"

"I have no idea. That definition varies. North, Tooth, and Bunnymund never had anything extremely bad happen to them other than they almost lost their powers because kids stopped believing. Sandy was killed, but then he came back. I've heard there are other things he does, though. Merida, we need to get there. We don't know how long ago he left that note. With Pitch, twenty-four hours starts as soon as he drops that note," Jack replies.

"It's a race against the clock, then," Merida mutters under her breath. "Listen to me, last time Hiccup was in danger with Pitch, he was with me, and Pitch seemed to take an interest in my archery. I know what he wants, Jack. He wants me. I have to go get Hiccup."

"You can't go by yourself," Jack says. "Then he'll do things to both you _and_ Hiccup."

"Then you and Rapunzel stay close by. Let me go by myself. If I need help, I'll yell for you. Got it, Frosty?" Merida says.

"Alright. I know how to get to Pitch's lair. I'll lead you there, and then Rapunzel and I will stay nearby. Just be careful in there. Pitch is unpredictable."

…

Merida comes crashing against the ground. She looks back up. The light barely filters through from the hole back in Burgess. She shakes her head. _Find Hiccup, make sure Pitch didn't do anything yet._ Merida gets back to her feet. Her eyes scan the room for any signs of Hiccup. Something dashes by. Merida whirls around, eyes narrowed.

"Hiccup? Toothless?"

"Merida!" an agonized voice cries out from up above. Merida looks up toward the cages hanging from the ceiling to find Hiccup in one of them.

"Hiccup! Hic, what happened? Do you know what happened Toothless?"

"Merida, behind you!" Hiccup manages to cough out, pointing behind the redhead. Merida turns to see Toothless standing behind her, eyes angry and golden, rather than the friendly green she's used to.

"Hiccup, what happened?" she asks, aiming an arrow for Toothless.

"Pitch," Hiccup coughs. "He turned him i-into a fearling."

"How did you two even wind up here?"

"A-ask him," Hiccup says, pointing just above Toothless. Merida watches, fearful, as Pitch comes down on a cloud of nightmare sand.

"Ah, the archer. So, you remembered our encounter last time it was just the two of you, then?" Pitch asks. Merida nods hesitantly, tilting her arrow upward.

"How did you manage to get Hiccup and Toothless without the rest of us noticing? Somebody had to have made noise," Merida asks. She takes notice of the nightmare sand swirling around her feet like fog.

"My nightmares easily shut them right up," Pitch replies. "They hardly even noticed. Of course, when they woke up, the dragon was being quite dangerous. He almost broke Hiccup here out. I had to take some _measures._ When those didn't work, I resorted to…well, this."

"You said you wouldn't do anything to Hiccup until the twenty-four hours were up…how long ago did you even take him?" Merida questions.

"Nine hours ago," Pitch replies.

"Then why did you turn Toothless—"

"His dragon isn't him, is it?"

"He may as well be! Hurting Toothless is just like hurting Hiccup," Merida snaps.

"It's a loophole, archer, now get over it. I know the reason you're here. You wanted to rescue Hiccup, but you remembered what happened last time. I'll make a deal, archer. I'll let Hiccup go free if you're willing to trade places with him," Pitch says.

"And Toothless," Merida demands.

"I'll let the dragon go free as well, granted they stay for another three hours, and then you stay."

Merida looks up at Hiccup, up in the cages. Hiccup shakes his head.

"Merida, I—" Hiccup falls to his knees, coughing. "I'll be f-fine."

"No, Hiccup, you won't." Merida turns back toward Pitch.

"How much time do I have to make my decision?"


	4. Day 4: Oddball

**Mericcup Week  
Day 4: Oddball**

"I'm the first Viking in three-hundred years who wouldn't kill a dragon. The others think I'm crazy. They tried to put me in the kill ring with a Monstrous Nightmare. I ran away and came here before they could catch me. Merida, how do I even go about this? When and _if_ I go back to Berk, they'll either kill me, make me kill Toothless, or separate us for good."

"You could hang around here for a while. Maybe you can hide in the woods here until they forget all about you and your inability to kill a dragon. By then, they'll have let the entire thing die down."

"But if I randomly show up on Toothless, they'll remember! _'Hey, it's Hiccup on that dragon he wouldn't kill!'_ I'm being serious here."

"I don't know, Hic. I'm kind of running away from my own problems, too. I'm the first princess who's decided she's not going to marry any of the suitors. At least, at the moment. None of them have impressed me…I just don't like them."

"Seems like we're both the oddball of our families. I won't kill a dragon, you won't get married off to one of the suitors."

"Not to mention you're friends with a Scot and I'm friends with a Viking."

Hiccup rolls his eyes and laughs quietly.

"No wonder we're such good friends."

"I know. So, when do you think there will be search parties out for us?"

"You're a princess," Hiccup replies. "You're high priority, but I'm willing to bet they'll wait a little while, because you're in the woods so often. I don't know when they'll be sending out a search party for me. All I did was screw up at home and now I won't kill dragons. I don't even know if they'd _send_ one. Besides, I've got a dragon. They've got ships and their feet."

"You really are an oddball," Merida teases.

"So are you," Hiccup replies.


	5. Day 5: The Best of Both Worlds

**Mericcup Week  
Day 5: The Best of Both Worlds**

"An archer from medieval Scotland and a dragon trainer from an island called Berk, in the same era. Jack, aren't they supposed to be enemies?"

Rapunzel's hesitant to even get near the two of them, fearing anything she'll say will spark a heated argument. Jack shakes his head, grinning all the while.

"Nope. During their lifetimes, even though they're from rivaling cultures, they were best friends," Jack replies. "When I was chosen for control over the seasons, I ran into these two. Merida was helping Hiccup take fall out, and they explained their pasts to me. At first, I thought what you did, so it was a little confusing. They can explain it better, though. Come on. I told them about you already, before you even got chosen. Don't be shy, Punz."

Jack take's Rapunzel's hand and leads her up to Hiccup and Merida. The two of them turn at the sight of Jack and the final season protector, Rapunzel.

"Rapunzel," Merida says. "Jack's told us a lot about you."

"Yeah," Hiccup says. "You guys have been best friends since the day he came crashing into your window, huh?"

Rapunzel smiles politely.

"Yep. Kind of an odd day, but it was a great day because it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Speaking of friendship, Jack's told me a lot about you guys, too…"

"You want the story, don't ya?" Merida asks. "We love tellin' the story."

"I began it last time, so I guess it's Merida's turn this time," Hiccup says, nodding toward his redheaded partner.

"Well, I was out in the woods one day…"

_Merida looks up at the targets hanging on the tree branches up above. She dismounts Angus._

_ "Stay here," she says quietly, patting her horse before moving forward on her own. She scans over each target – or what's left of each target – curiously. Anything that's left is burned. Broken pieces lie scattered on the forest floor in the surrounding area. _

_ "Someone destroyed my targets. Lovely."_

_ Merida's eyes narrow when she sees a huge mass off in the distance, right next to a smaller human figure. She takes cautious steps toward the beings when the mass turns around. Merida's eyes widen, and she strings an arrow._

_ "Dragon!" she cries._

_ The mass – a black dragon with bright green eyes – jumps at Merida. The human runs after the dragon._

_ "Toothless!" the human, a boy about Merida's age, calls. The boy manages to get in front of the dragon before he can harm Merida. Merida looks with wide eyes at the two intruders in the DunBroch woods._

_ "Who are you?" she asks, holding up her bow and aiming her arrow at the boy._

_ "Please, please don't shoot," the boy says nervously. "I'm sorry. Toothless and I are just new to these parts. We're sort of fed up with my family and our village, and we just came here to get out for a while. W-Where are we, anyway?"_

_ "You're in DunBroch, in the Scottish Highlands. Now, I asked you a question. Who are you?"_

_ "I-I'm Hiccup. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. I'm the son of the chief back in my village. And did you say that we're in the Scottish Highlands?"_

_ "Yes, I did. Son of the chief, huh? What kind of chief?"_

_ "A-A Viking chief. B-But listen…what's your name?"_

_ "I'm Merida, first born of the clan DunBroch. I'm the princess here," Merida snaps. "Now why should I spare a Viking?"_

_ "I'm not like the other Vikings. I swear. The other Vikings are buff and they use brawn over brains. Most of all, they kill dragons. Look at me. I'm not buff. I use my brains because I really don't even have brawn. And I couldn't kill this dragon. As of right now, he's my only friend. We're just trying to get away."_

_ Merida hesitates before finally letting her bow fall back to her side. Hiccup breathes a sigh of relief._

_ "Thank you, Merida. Listen, can I please just stay here for a little while? We won't cause any harm or come near your kingdom. I – we- promise. Please? I'm begging you. I can't go back to Berk just yet."_

_ "Fine. Besides, I guess you're not the only one running. My mother is driving me crazy with my lessons. Princesses don't have the easy life. Rules, expectations, responsibilities…"_

_ "I see…"_

"Our friendship sort of blossomed from that day," Merida says.

"Yep. Sort of the best of both worlds," Hiccup says. "Best archer in Scotland, and the best dragon rider in Berk."


	6. Day 6: Fallback

**Mericcup Week  
Day 6: Fallback **

She was the one he always went back to. If he had a bad day, or he needed to get away before he was forced into the Kill Ring to fight another dragon, he could always fly away on Toothless, right to the woods of DunBroch, to talk to her. He'd help her with her own problems. Give her the courage to face things. He remembered the last time he talked to the redhead. Her mother was trying to get her betrothed to one of the suitors. He told her that things would work out, but she said she'd have to take matters into her own hands.

After that, they didn't ever talk to each other. Merida had made things too complicated. Hiccup got caught up with the other Vikings and had to go save his best friend. It was two weeks before Hiccup returned to the woods of DunBroch, for some time alone with the flame-haired princess. He was confused when he searched the woods and found no sign of the girl.

He ended up venturing out toward the castle. Abandoned. Concern rose in Hiccup's chest as he scanned the place over. Some ways away, he stumbled upon three headstones. Panic flooded his every being as he read the first two headstones. _Queen Elinor. King Fergus._ Hiccup had to force himself to look at the third grave.

_Princess Merida._

He stumbled back. Toothless had to catch him. He stood at the graves for a long time. No…this was wrong. His best friend…was actually gone? When it finally hit him, he broke down and cried. Who would he even go to now? He always went to Merida. Merida was his fallback. He was her fallback. They comforted each other and gave each other advice.

Hiccup turned back to the dragon when he was finally done sobbing. _I never got to say good-bye to her. _He leaned up against his dragon and ended up falling asleep right in front of the graves. Toothless curled up with him and made sure Hiccup was warm.

Toothless became Hiccup's fallback, but he was nowhere near as great a fallback as Merida; Toothless couldn't give him comforting words or any advice. Hiccup didn't speak in the dragon's language. Toothless didn't speak the human's language.

The next few days were crazy. Hiccup and Toothless ended up in battle with the Red Death, one of the biggest and most fearsome dragons known to man. It was in the middle of the battle that the mechanisms on Toothless stopped working as they should have. Hiccup suddenly knew it was hopeless, but he had to try. He recalled every word of advice Merida had ever given him.

It was a victory for the Vikings…almost. Hiccup and Toothless passed away at the end of the battle, choked and burned by the smoke and flames when the Red Death exploded. Hiccup was brought back as the spirit of autumn; and there, he fell back again to Merida…the spirit of summer.


	7. Day 7: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

**I don't know how I feel about this one. Tomorrow check my profile for Everlark Week. :)**

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**Mericcup Week  
Day 7: Every Cloud has a Silver Lining**

When the Vikings and Scots first heard that they were both to be attacked by the same people, they didn't know what to think. The first two people to suggest a new alliance were Hiccup and Merida. At first, both the Vikings and the Scots were unwilling to work together. Merida, though, finally convinced her parents to ally with the Vikings, saying that if they allied, they would have even better protection. Hiccup went to his father and explained to him the situation, and mentioned something similar.

They agreed.

"It's a good thing that they agreed. At this rate, we're gonna need both of their help to get out of here," Hiccup mutters, trying to break the ropes tying his hands together.

"I want to know how they're holding up. They were biting back insults at each other when we were captured," Merida mutters, trying to undo her own bonds.

"Do you think they'll ever find us?" Hiccup asks. "I mean, we're hidden pretty well and—"

"Hiccup. Calm down. I'm sure they'll find us. They have Toothless. Toothless will be able to find you, especially."

"What if they have our parents?"

Merida goes quiet at the question. Queen Elinor and King Fergus…the leaders of the kingdom of DunBroch. Stoick the Vast…leader of the Viking tribe the Hairy Hooligans. They would be very good to have captive.

"I don't know, Hic. You have to trust that your dad is a good fighter, and my father is a good fighter, and that my mother is somewhere where she can't be hurt. You guys have your dragons. I'm sure they'll be able to defend us well, too."

"Are you sure?"

"Almost positive. Hiccup, I'm just as scared as you are. But I have a feeling that we'll be alright in the end, and everything will be just fine."

The pair sit in silence for a long time, before Hiccup finally speaks up again.

"Every cloud has a silver lining."

"What?" Merida asks.

"Even bad situations have good things about them," Hiccup says. "For us, even though we're stuck here for Odin-knows-how-long, our people are almost definitely working together. We've made a new alliance."


End file.
